Page 18 of Lady of Charade
He took a deep breath. What scared him the most was the fact that looking out for her wasn’t the upsetting prospect he would have thought it to be.
* * *
Sarah finished cleaning her rooms,then placed her hands on her hips as she looked about her. It was strange, really, how Mr. Redmond had been within her chamber but two days and now it felt slightly bereft here without him.
The truth was, she didn’t often treat her patients within her rooms — she usually went to wherever they needed her help. This had been quite an unconventional situation. The memory of their kiss swirled around her mind, and she shook her head in annoyance. It had been an accident. One that he was likely not even aware of. Why this dratted man was getting into her head, she had no idea, but she had to put an end to this, or she would be in trouble. For not only had she no time for a dalliance, which is all there would ever be between them, but she also had greater matters to attend to.
At that moment, a knock on her door revealed a messenger, and Sarah smiled at the boy, giving him a coin and sending him on his way before she opened the note, revealing it to be from Lady Alexander, telling her of a party that evening. It was rather short notice, but it was at the home of the Earl of Torrington — a man who remained on her list as one that could potentially be for whom she was searching.
She would go, she decided, though she wasn’t sure she could stomach many more of these events. She hated carrying on the lie of who she was, where she had come from, and she no longer wanted to impose on Lady Alexander. She was losing heart in her quest, beginning to question why she had ever come here in the first place. Did it really matter who her father was, or whether she had any other family?
But it did, came the quiet reminder from a corner of her heart. For she had no one else in the world. She did have her friends, true — and what great friends they had become. But they were growing their own families now, and while she knew they would always be there for her in whatever capacity she required, she longed for a greater tie to someone else.
She walked over to her wardrobe with some determination. Which tired dress she would wear tonight, she had no idea. She had only a few that remained fashionable, and even then, she was sure they had been seen far too often. She stroked her hand over the silver one, her favorite, and decided one more wear wouldn’t hurt. Had Mr. Redmond seen her in it before?
Enough, Sarah,she scolded herself. It didn’t matter what Mr. Redmond thought or had seen. He had already seen her in her nightrail and wrapper, for goodness sake! Surely he would hardly notice if she wore the same dress twice.
As she pulled the dress out, she realized that she had assumed he would be present tonight, though in his current state she would actually advise himnotto attend, were she asked. Yet she hoped he wouldn’t heed such advice. For the truth was, she wanted to see him again. And she wasn’t sure what to do about such a thought.
* * *
Sarah’sfirst question was answered when she walked into the home of the Earl and Countess of Torrington later that evening. The house was spectacular, the Countess obviously taking great care in the upkeep of her home. Everything seemed to be gilded and painted in magnificent fashion, clearly aimed to impress — and impress it did, with its Egyptian flavor and spacious, connecting rooms. Sarah wondered what their country estate must look like if this was their London home.
“Do not crane your neck so,” Lady Alexander admonished from beside her, and Sarah turned and smiled ever so slightly at her, vowing not to do so any longer. Lady Alexander had been kind to her ever since they had met, though her tone could come off as rather harsh. Sarah was aware that she said such things for no reason other than to assist her in fitting in with the noble set.
And there he was — Mr. Redmond. He was rather pale and his eyes seemed hallowed, one blackened, and as he shocked Sarah by walking straight toward her, his steps somewhat sloppy, Sarah found herself admonishing him as a nervous wife would her husband.
“Mr. Redmond, I hardly think you are fit for a party,” she said, her hands on her hips, as Lady Alexander stared at the two of them, her features composed yet her eyes flitting between the two of them in her confusion.
“Perhaps not,” he agreed as he lifted his drink to her in a salute. “But I have been restored to rights well enough that I am already tired of my own company.”
“Are you… not well, Mr. Redmond?” Lady Alexander asked, finding her voice, and Mr. Redmond turned to her as though he had just noticed her presence.
“I had a bit of an accident the other day,” he explained. “I find I am now feeling a great deal better.”
“Very good,” she said, then gestured to Sarah. “And you are acquainted with Miss Jones after your dance last week?”
“Of course. I have had the pleasure of meeting Miss Jones through mutual good friends,” he said with a smile that was, of course, meant to charm Lady Alexander. “And here they come now. If you will excuse me. A dance later, Miss Jones?”
Sarah could only nod as she watched him stride over to the Duke of Clarence, and she turned to find Lady Alexander’s shrewd gaze upon her.
“What was that about?”
“He was being friendly, I suppose,” Sarah said, trying to shrug off Mr. Redmond’s attention.
“How were you aware that he had been involved in an accident?” Lady Alexander asked, and Sarah stilled for a moment.
“The Duchess of Clarence informed me of it,” she finally said. She had never shared with Lady Alexander her abilities as a healer. She felt the woman might disdain her endeavors, telling her that she must stop before being found out by anyone within the nobility. If she ever discovered that Sarah had actually treated one of her own station, Sarah knew Lady Alexander would be more than scandalized.
“Well, please be careful of the man,” Lady Alexander murmured. “I know he is a charming one, but it is well known that his affairs are not kept particularly discreet and that he has no interest in actually committing to any one woman.”
“Yes, I am aware,” Sarah said. “I will be on my guard, Lady Alexander. Thank you.”
And at that, Lady Alexander nodded, stared at her for a moment as though assessing the truth of her words, and then continued on her way, leaving Sarah alone with jumbled thoughts — and finally, the realization that if she wanted to do a further search of the Earl’s past, there would be no better time to do so than now.
CHAPTER9
David kept an interested eye on the innocent Sarah Jones. She looked lovely tonight, dressed in an ethereal silver gown that shimmered when she walked. He wondered where she had found the money to dress in such a fashion. Surely not from the patients who appeared at her doorstep, for he doubted many of them could pay anything near what would keep her in fine fashions.
